Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1887-04-11
The COMMERCE. LAW.
Commissioner Fink Of the Trunk Lines
Association on the General Effect
of the New Act,
He Says the Commission has Given
Evidence Of It's Good Judgment
BY lis First Decision,
Effect OF the Enforcement of tho Fourth
Section of the Law on tho Com
merCo of San Francisco.
a TALK WITH COMMISSIONER FINN.

NEW YORK, April 10 Commissioner Al
bert Fink, of the Trunk Lines association,
has gwen his views of the probable effect of
the Inter stste commerce act. He said:
There would have been 10 difficulty IN
securing TO the public beneficial results
from tae Operstion of the Interstate
law II it had not been for the unnecessary
insertion Of section 4 in such language
as 10 give rise To different interpreta-
tons. 1t is impossible to adapt the tar
ifs OF this country TO Z strict IOng and
short haul rule. While it may be applied
to many roads, and has been practically
in use for many years upon the trunk
lines and their western connections, il is
Impossible to applY it 10 roads which run
through thiuly settled country, such as
the southern and the tranSC1utiuentaI
systems Of roads, without either bank
rupting the roads if they comply with the
rule, or, on the other hand, ObStructing
commerce If they withdraw from
competition and operate the roads
as mere IOcsl roads It seems
strange that = law should pass Congress
which interftreS with the natural COM
potion between railways and WATERWAYS,
when competition is considered by the
public as one of the most important fac
tors in the transportation business. 1t
was a great mistake to make an arbitrary
rule Of that sort, which Is opposed
to the commercial interests of the
country. If the power D suspend this
rule is lodged in the commission, as some
in erpTet the law, it Is possible To deal
with each individual case iRWhiCd il IS
just and proper that the rHle should be
suspended. Sections l, , ami of the
law prohibit the making Of JUjuS aud uu-
reasonable ra.JS, as We'll As unjust dis
CriminutiOn aIaigst individuals or local
tiles. This Is ali that can De required,
and if al these principles are violated
by the railroad computes u method is
provided fOy correction and punishment,
aud ell abuses heretofore existing could
be gradually corrected. | think the l4W
is an excellent one in may respects, if it
Is applied to correct abuses, without ere
atil@ new AID greater ones, aud mis- de
peudS in > great measure upon the COM
mission, which has given evidence OF its
good Judgment by its first decisiOn''
ITS EFFECT IN CALIFORNIA.
SAN FRANCISCO. CAL, April l0.-The
Alta California publishes "a interview
with Leland Stanford, president of the
L
garding the effect the enforcement of
the fourth section of the interstate com
merce law would nave on the commerce
OF San Francisco. He said: "Tne
literal enfOI cement of the fourth section
Of the Interstate commerce law would be
simply ruinOUs. 1t would destroy our
commerce not only with China aud Japan,
but with Austrslis and all Other countries
HG not lro In . RI, hvy-
Of the Pacific ocean. Now our agents
in China and Japan are brought
face 10 face with competitive rates by
way of the Suez canal, Oy water and rail
across the isthmus of Panama, and by
water around Cape Horn. Hitherto we
have tried to meet that competition by
giving rates which, if not as low as those
Oy water, are, when combined with the
added advantages of speed, sufficient to
secure large proportion of business.
These rates, of themselves, could not be
that is to say, if our whole
carrying business was conducted on the
same basis, it would not pay the oper-
lting expenses of the road and the inter
est on tbs investment, but as We are
compelled to keep up our track and roll
ng stock, and operate our road anyway,
through business, even at these low
'ates, contributes toward paving the
of the road, and to that
extent operate in measure to enable US
20 make lower rates on local business
han might otherwise be possible. Now,
{ appears, we are brought face to face
With this proposition. If the laws TO DE
literally enforced we can not make
special rate for through business without
making a cOrreSDO: ding rate for all our
OCal business. We shall be compelled
% choose between local ana through bus
ness and in that event, naturally, we will
lave to torego the through business"